"Damn it! Team Rocket are all insane!"
Hunter R stared at the two avian Pokémon overhead, her expression turning grim.
As the leader of a well-known poaching group with ambitions of her own, she naturally knew the Legendary Birds and what each of them looked like.
What she never expected was that while she had been dreaming of capturing the Legendary Birds one day, Team Rocket had already begun using them for genetic experiments.
And judging from the results, this clearly wasn't some amateur attempt.
She had even assumed the Team Rocket operative had given her one of Bisharp's Dark Balls, wondering why it looked no different from an ordinary Poké Ball.
Who would have thought that monsters like these were sealed inside?
"Thank goodness we didn't release them earlier when the third guy suggested testing them otherwise..."
While dodging the intertwining flames and bolts of lightning, Hunter K felt both relieved and furious at Hunter P, the teammate they had left behind.
For once, he thought their boss's decision to sacrifice the third member had been absolutely correct.
Someone like that never should have been their partner.
"Just release them and see what happens?"
That was practically a death sentence.
Even now, the two of them were still cursing nonstop despite their predicament.
In a way, that was proof of how strong their nerves were.
As veteran poachers who had roamed free for years, they had always expected that one day they might end up in prison.
According to League law, at least they'd probably survive.
Compared to walking the razor's edge between life and death, they'd much rather be arrested by the Pokémon League right now. At least then, their safety would be guaranteed.
"I've still got plenty of information on Team Rocket. If I hand it over, maybe I can negotiate a lighter sentence."
Hunter R was already calculating how to make the best use of the intelligence she possessed, assuming she survived.
"Yeah."
Hunter K gave her a forced smile.
Suddenly, the two separated with perfect coordination, each dodging attacks raining down from above.
The instant they realized escape was impossible, they made the most self-serving decision possible.
"What ruthless people."
Watching from a distance, Silas couldn't help clicking his tongue.
No wonder they were crazy enough to repeatedly raid Mt. Silver.
Once their disguises fell away, Silas immediately recognized who they were.
After all, around Johto, the Ghoul Poacher Group was fairly infamous.
He simply hadn't expected Team Rocket to mobilize all three of its leaders at once.
While each individual wasn't on Hunter J's level, hiring all three together probably cost even more than employing Hunter J herself.
"Looks like this year's Mt. Silver won't be nearly as interesting."
Silas found his thoughts drifting.
The reason was obvious.
With all three leaders gone, what could the remaining underlings possibly accomplish?
Although they were called leaders, the Ghoul Poacher Group had always been loosely organized. These three merely controlled the majority of its strength.
Once they disappeared, the organization would inevitably fall apart.
"Could Giovanni be taking this opportunity to absorb the poachers from both regions? Those three idiots really walked straight into the trap?"
The more Silas thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
As a bonus, Team Rocket could also field-test the combat capabilities of those two two-headed mutant birds.
That was exactly the sort of thing Team Rocket would do.
"I'll ask James about it later. Maybe he's been assigned some poaching-related missions recently."
Silas quickly made up his mind.
If Team Rocket was expanding, James would almost certainly be involved.
Being the heir of the Sasaki family certainly had its privileges.
If that was really the case, Team Rocket's expansion was progressing much faster than Silas had imagined.
"I really want to know just how powerful Mewtwo has become."
He couldn't help sighing.
Judging by the timeline, Team Rocket's rapid expansion had begun around the same time Mewtwo was created.
There was no way those two events were unrelated.
Before that, Team Rocket had never casually targeted Legendary Pokémon on such a scale.
"Skraaa!"
A shrill, unpleasant scream suddenly echoed across the battlefield.
One of the mutant birds had its Zapdos head firmly gripped in Dragonite's claws.
The Zapdos head's eyes rolled upward as it nearly suffocated.
Sensing the body's worsening condition, the Moltres head, which shared the same body, immediately sprang into action.
Its beak ignited with flames as it pecked viciously toward Dragonite.
Smack!
A silver flash slammed directly into the Moltres head, sending it flying.
The force nearly tore both necks apart, causing both heads to shriek in agony.
Dragonite casually swung its arm, spinning the two-headed bird into a tangled knot.
With a gentle flap of its tiny wings, Dragonite instantly caught up to the spinning creature.
It slowly raised its right leg in midair, as if preparing to kick a football.
Boom!!
The mutant bird was blasted straight into the ground, its fate unknown.
"They're still not here?"
Silas' calm expression gradually turned anxious.
This wasn't what Clair had told him.
Hadn't she said the Dragon Elder would arrive within fifteen minutes if anything happened?
It had already been well over twenty.
Looking at the tunnels Blaziken had dug behind him, Silas swallowed nervously.
If all else failed, he could only hope Dragonite wouldn't notice him hiding underground and that it wouldn't decide to use Earthquake.
After all, Dragonite's mind shouldn't be functioning too well while Outrage was active.
With one mutant bird defeated, the fate of the other was obvious.
Under Dragonite's relentless punches, the second creature quickly lost all sense of direction in the air.
Only two or three minutes later, it joined its companion.
At the bottom of two enormous craters lay the twisted bodies of the two mutant Pokémon, barely breathing.
"Is that the limit?"
Silas quietly stopped timing.
Eleven and a half minutes.
Far longer than he'd expected.
He'd originally thought their unstable genes would collapse within five minutes.
Instead, despite Dragonite's continuous assault, they had endured surprisingly long.
"Or perhaps Team Rocket implanted technology similar to the Dark Ball... sacrificing lifespan to rapidly heal injuries. For creatures with fundamentally unstable genes, lifespan probably doesn't matter anyway."
Silas quickly arrived at another possibility.
Either way, Team Rocket possessing creations like these was terrible news for the League.
It meant their high-ranking operatives finally possessed the means to temporarily challenge Champion-level Trainers.
The only remaining question was production cost.
If it wasn't too expensive, both the Kanto and Johto Leagues were about to face a serious headache.
"Come back, Pidgeot."
Silas recalled the only Pokémon too large to hide effectively.
Although Pidgeot protested, wanting to stay outside in case it needed to carry Silas away, Silas didn't believe Pidgeot, in its current condition, could escape Dragonite's pursuit.
Taking advantage of Dragonite's attention being focused on the two poachers, Silas hurried behind a massive boulder, preparing to crawl into one of the tunnels and hide underground for a while.
"ROOOAAAR!!"
A dragon's roar, different from Dragonite's, echoed in the distance.
Halfway into the tunnel, Silas' eyes suddenly lit up.
"Very powerful."
Blaziken's Aura and Gallade's psychic senses immediately confirmed it.
"Draco Meteor!"
An elderly voice that sounded strangely familiar echoed across the sky.
Silas quickly climbed back out and looked into the distance.
Standing steadily atop a Pokémon enveloped in brilliant orange light was an elderly woman leaning on a walking stick.
As if sensing his gaze, the old woman looked toward him and smiled.
Silas unconsciously swallowed.
The Dragon Elder...
She was incredibly powerful.
"ROAR!"
Beneath the Dragon Elder was a Salamence.
The orange radiance gathering around its body gradually converged at its mouth.
A massive orange sphere pulsed with terrifying draconic energy.
With an earth-shaking roar, Salamence launched the sphere high into the sky.
The next instant, countless orange meteors rained down like a celestial shower, hurtling toward Dragonite, which was still trapped in its Outrage state.
"So beautiful..."
Silas couldn't help admiring the sight.
Hidden beneath that breathtaking beauty, however, was overwhelming destructive power.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
In the blink of an eye, the battlefield erupted as though it had been bombarded by missiles.
Explosions rang continuously in Silas' ears.
"Gallade!"
A layer of Psychic energy enveloped him, and he finally felt relief.
"Thanks, Gallade."
Silas patted Gallade on the shoulder before turning his gaze back toward Salamence.
In only a few seconds, it had flown from the distant sky to the battlefield.
"ROOOAAAR!"
Dragonite's furious roar rang out once more.
Clearly, although the Dragon Elder's Salamence was incredibly powerful, it was still outmatched against a Dragonite that had reached the Tier-3 Legendary level.
Even after enduring an intense battle beforehand, Dragonite's strength remained overwhelming.
"Get ready. Close in."
Leaning on her cane, the Dragon Elder crouched down and gently patted her longtime partner on the head.
Salamence nodded, its eyes blazing with fighting spirit as it stared at Dragonite.
Its crimson wings beat powerfully, creating violent gusts that propelled its massive body forward.
A brilliant white light enveloped it in an instant.
"Mega Evolve! Go! Crimson Crescent that rends the heavens!"
"Roooaaar!"
Under everyone's stunned gaze, an entirely new Salamence appeared in the sky.
Its wings had fused into a single massive crescent-shaped wing. Its head, neck, and body became sleeker, its limbs shortened, its tail grew longer, and its entire body took on a perfectly streamlined form.
The upper pair of wing-like protrusions on its head extended dramatically, while the middle pair stretched forward toward its snout. Together with the unchanged lower pair, they gave it an incredibly fierce appearance.
The gray armor covering its lower jaw disappeared, revealing smooth crimson skin. The armor on its abdomen became more like a vest, while a pair of crimson rings appeared near the base of its hind legs.
Its legs were almost completely hidden within the gaps of its wings, making them nearly impossible to see, while its already incredible flying speed increased even further.
Just as the Dragon Elder had declared, Mega Salamence truly resembled a crimson crescent slicing across the heavens.
Wrapped in raging currents of wind, Mega Salamence charged at Dragonite with terrifying momentum, as though it intended to split it cleanly in two.
Even though Dragonite had lost much of its reason in its Outrage state, it still instinctively recognized a powerful opponent.
Purple energy surged around both of its claws, making them appear even larger than usual.
"ROOOOAR!"
Its compact dragon claws slammed directly into Mega Salamence, which was charging with Dragon Rush.
But no one could confidently declare Mega Salamence the victor.
Mega Evolution granted an enormous increase in power, but bridging the gap between Champion level and Tier-3 Legendary was no simple feat.
Dragonite was still stronger.
The violent shockwave produced by the collision spread outward, whipping up clouds of dust that completely obscured the battle.
Silas could only understand what was happening through Blaziken's Aura and Gallade's telepathic reports.
"The Dragon Elder..."
The only thing he couldn't understand and the only thing he was truly worried about was the Dragon Elder herself.
What gave her the confidence to place herself directly in the middle of a battle between Pokémon at the Champion and Tier-3 Legendary levels?
Even martial artists as powerful as Bruno wouldn't dare rely on their own body to stand in the middle of such a clash.
At that moment, a tiny purple glow, insignificant compared to the two battling Dragon-types, caught Silas's attention.
"What's that?"
He narrowed his eyes, trying to see more clearly.
The Dragon Elder slowly released the cane she had been gripping.
Her frail, elderly body stood firmly at the very center of the violent battlefield.
Dragon-type energy gathered around her, identical in nature to the energy radiating from the dragons themselves.
"There, there calm down now. Settle your heart."
Smiling gently, the Dragon Elder reached out and softly stroked Dragonite's head.
Beneath her, Mega Salamence grit its teeth and held Dragonite firmly in place. No matter how fiercely Dragonite attacked, it refused to yield even a single step.
Gradually, Dragonite's attacks became weaker.
The crimson glow in its eyes and across its body slowly faded away.
"Dragon...?"
A slightly confused, almost adorable cry escaped Dragonite's mouth.
Its eyes regained their clarity as it looked around in bewilderment.
"ROAR!"
Mega Salamence immediately let out an irritated roar at it.
The Dragon Elder lowered her hands wearily.
"It's alright now everything's alright."
She smiled warmly as she comforted the guardian Dragonite.
Although only a few seconds had passed, she looked as exhausted as if she had been working nonstop for an entire day.
The guardian Dragonite naturally recognized the Dragon Elder.
After briefly recalling what had happened, it immediately understood the situation.
A faint crimson glow began creeping back into its eyes.
Realizing what was happening, the Dragon Elder quickly gathered her remaining strength and gently stroked Dragonite's head once more.
After repeating the process several times, Dragonite finally returned to its normal, peaceful self.
"Kelala."
Looking at the two poachers, who had already been frozen solid by Dragonite, the Dragon Elder said nothing.
She climbed down from the now-reverted Salamence and walked toward Silas.
Silas obediently stepped out from his hiding place.
"Hehe Elder, fancy meeting you here."
..
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